The Golden Age of Basketball

( ) "Hey Otis, is your game over yet?"

"Yeah Gan, I'm in the hotel now, oh my god, we're doing terrible."

"If your performance is good enough, I don't care about the King's results."

"But my performance was also bad, and I only scored 6 points; while he scored 25 points, but his shooting percentage was a bit low, 21 of 8 shots."

"Maybe you guys should go back home and adjust, but we have an away trip next month."

"Really? Then I can only wish you good luck..."

………………

"Gan! It's time to play!"

"Understood!" Gan Guoyang just hung up the phone.The call was from Otis Thorpe from Chicago.

On October 10th, the game between the Kansas City Kings and the Chicago Bulls has ended, and the game between the Portland Trail Blazers and the Seattle SuperSonics has not yet started.

Because it is located on the west coast, the game in Portland will be about 4 hours later than in the central area.

"Clyde, let's make a bet. I think I can score 25 points tonight." Gan Guoyang said to Drexler beside him while doing shooting practice.

"You should tell Coach Ramsey about this. If he sees you scoring 24 points, he will put you on the bench immediately and never let you score 25 points." Drexler smiled Said to Gan Guoyang.

"As long as you give me more balls, I think it's fine." Gan Guoyang said again. In the last game, several of Gan Guoyang's goals were passed to him by Drexler. In Ramsey's tactics, there was no Gan Guoyang. Single this one out.

"Don't even think about it, Jim Paxson has come back, and I was put on the bench again. Whether I can play is a problem." Drexler said helplessly.

Gan Guoyang remembered that the team's shooting guard Jim Paxson, who had missed the first game due to injuries, returned from injury and caught up with the team's second game.

In this way, Ramsey adjusted the starting lineup, putting Drexler back on the bench again and letting Jim Paxson start.

The Blazers' outside shooting ability has been further enhanced, but the vitality of the fast break will obviously drop a bit.

"My God, I think you are much better than Paxson, and you were outstanding in the last game. Why did you put you on the bench again?" Gan Guoyang was a little bit aggrieved for Drexler.

And for Jim Paxson, Gan Guoyang's favorability for him is average, not because he robbed Drexler's starter, but because Jim Paxson did not treat Gan Guoyang too well in his daily training and life. Enthusiasm, not too cold, anyway, the relationship is so-so.

At first, Gan Guoyang didn't understand what was going on, thinking that Paxson didn't like him, but later he found out that this guy graduated from the University of Dayton, and when Gan Guoyang was playing NCAA, he made 8 and 4 to kill the University of Dayton.

So because of this reason, Paxson has always had some thoughts about Gan Guoyang, and he doesn't like Gan Guoyang's extroversion and arrogance, so the relationship between the two is naturally very ordinary.

"You should think about yourself first, the opponent's inside line is not weak today, be careful, you have a chance to perform."

After hearing Drexler's words, Gan Guoyang couldn't help but look back at the Supersonic players on the opposite side. Two big white men were practicing shooting.

"No problem, I'll get 25 points."

…………

The opening ceremony experienced in the last game was carried out again. Gan Guoyang felt a headache when he thought that this kind of ceremony would be carried out at least 82 times a year.

But standing up from the bench, clapping hands with all the substitute players under the introduction of the DJ, and then standing on the court feels really great. At that moment, he will feel that he is the owner of the court.

It's just that he wasn't the last to play. The most valuable position belongs to the team's current number one star, Kiki Vandeweghe.

Gan Guoyang thought that this position would be his one day.

But now he's more focused on the game, and the opponent he's up against, waiting in the center circle for his Seattle forward, Jake Sikma.

Gan Guoyang had never watched Sikma's game. The NBA at that time, especially when Gan Guoyang first came to the United States in the early 80s, was quite bleak. Even the 1980 finals were not broadcast live but recorded.

Although the Seattle SuperSonics were the NBA championship in 1979, they began to decline in the 80s and were overtaken by a dominant Lakers. In the end, the champions of the team left one after another.

And the only remaining main member of the championship is their center Sikma.

Gan Guoyang has heard about Sikma, knowing that the opponent is an all-star center and an experienced veteran, but Gan Guoyang is not timid. On the contrary, he is very excited. He is looking forward to the confrontation with the master, so that he can learn a lot.

Sikma is a blond white man. At that time, white center forwards were generally soft and slow. Gan Guoyang also felt that this veteran seemed a little weak when he was fighting for the ball.

The Blazers got the ball, and Gan Guoyang's second NBA game began.

In the beginning, Gan Guoyang still went to a high position. According to Ramsey, as a center, Gan Guoyang must first have the ability to connect the whole team before he can become the core of the attack.

Gan Guoyang didn't understand this very well. He felt that as long as he could keep scoring goals, it was all right, but the coach asked him to do so, and he had to follow suit.

He came to the top of the arc, and Valentine handed him the ball to make a transition, and then he cut inside to look for an opportunity.

With Drexler sitting on the bench, the Blazers' outside vitality depends on Paxson and Vandeweghe.

These two guys have average athletic ability, but they are very accurate in shooting, and they play very stealthily, and they are very good at taking advantage of the difference in rhythm and timing.

Sampson made a screen for Paxson on the left, Paxson went around to the right, and Gan Guoyang passed the ball into his hands with a through ball.

Paxson made a gesture to make a shot, and Al Wood, who was defending him, jumped up to block the shot, but got Paxson's fake action.

Paxson hits Saubers with a 12-foot jumper.

"Shh!"

"Beep!"

With the sound of the goal, the referee's whistle sounded, and Paxson had a chance to hit a three-pointer.

There was a burst of cheers from the Memorial Stadium, also welcoming the return of the star guard, whose injuries have worried fans and the team throughout the summer.

It's just that Drexler, who is sitting off the court, doesn't feel so good. The better Paxson plays, the fewer opportunities he has.

The Blazers made a free throw and led 3:0. Paxson made a good start for the Blazers.

But then, the Blazers got into a little trouble.

Unlike the Kansas Kings in the previous game, the Seattle SuperSonics are a team that is strong inside and weak outside. In addition to center Jack Sikma, their frontcourt also has a familiar person Gan Guoyang, their big team. Forward, Tom Chambers.

Gan Guoyang watched the first NBA preseason game when he first came to the United States. The Golden State Warriors played against the San Diego Clippers. Chambers was a rookie of the Clippers. After two years in the Clippers, he was traded to the Supersonics and became a The team's main power forward.

Chambers is 6 feet 10 tall and is also a white player. Like most white forwards, his precise mid-range is his eating guy.

However, if he was just a shooter, he would be easy to deal with, but he is a power forward who is proficient in all kinds of skills.

Just after Paxson's three-pointer was completed, Seattle launched a quick counterattack.

Chambers took the ball at the corner, observed his teammates on the field, and did not choose to pass the ball, but directly broke through from the middle!

Mitchell Sampson was underprepared and was rushed in by Chambers. Seeing this, Gan Guoyang ignored Sikma behind him and stepped forward to defend.

Chambers turned around with the ball behind his back, bypassing Gan Guoyang and preparing to layup directly.

Gan Guoyang reacted very quickly, turned his head, jumped up and stretched out his long arms to block the shot, but it was still a little short. Chambers made a very difficult low-handed throw, and the ball sank into the frame.

The Blazers' ball was obviously caused by insufficient defensive attention. Everyone was looking for their opponents, which gave Chambers a chance.

Then the Blazers' offense began to fail. Vandeweghe and Paxson's touch was not good, and the three offenses relied on outside shots and missed.

On the contrary, the Sonics are resolutely playing inside.

Sikma made Gan Guoyang feel the strength of an NBA All-Star center for the first time. This center, who looked slow and soft, caught the ball twice at the basket, relying on excellent footsteps, a hook, and a false move. Wiping the basket and scoring 4 points in a row made Gan Guoyang extremely depressed.

After Chambers scored a two-handed slam dunk on a fast-break counterattack, the Sonics went 8-0, and the Blazers did nothing except Paxson's opening [-]-pointer.

Ramsey had to call a timeout. He had to adjust his tactics because the Blazers didn't look good at the beginning.

"Play the intensity of the offense, the intensity! Since our shooting is not good, we should play more inside and rely more on our inside line. Then, combine the inside and outside, and strengthen the cut from the top of the arc to the inside line. The impact. Gan, you make decisions with the ball in the low post, don’t be too deep, and leave some space for the inside.”

Gan Guoyang was taken aback when he heard Ramsay's words, he couldn't believe his ears, did Ramsay arrange tactics for himself?

In the usual training, the Blazers will also practice the tactical movement of other players when the center is playing in the low post.

In addition to the ordinary defense and cutting around the center to the basket, the most practiced is the high power forward screen and rushing to the basket.

The center's choice of passing or singles depends entirely on the center's own judgment. That is to say, Ramsey handed over the tactical choice on the field to Gan Guoyang and let him control the team's offense.

This was beyond Gan Guoyang's expectations. He has never liked Ramsey very much. Apart from Drexler's reasons, it was also because Ramsey really didn't like to use newcomers. He was put on the bench for a long time in the first game. proof.

But in fact, Gan Guoyang still knows too little about this coach. He has never tried to have in-depth communication with this famous coach.

The head coach sitting on the Sonics bench at this time, Lenny Wilkens, was once the head coach of the Trail Blazers. At that time, he already had Bill Walton in his hands, and he had the members who won the championship in 77, but He has never been able to bring out the results.

In the first year after Ramsey replaced him, he led the team to win the championship, and the Blazers also maintained their competitiveness in the following years.

Wilkens' brilliance came two years later in the Sonics. At that time, the Sonics were a strange team that dominated the perimeter and had a unique "point forward" position.

Compared with Wilkens, Ramsey's advantage is that he is good at developing and liberating the potential of players, especially the potential of inside players. Walton is completely liberated under his hands and bursts out great energy.

The reason why Drexler is not liked by Ramsey is that he is not the ideal team puzzle piece in Ramsey's mind. In fact, Drexler continues to perform like this, and it will be sooner or later that he will be recognized by Ramsey. thing.

Gan Guoyang was different. He was put on the bench in the first game purely because Ramsey felt that it would be better to deal with the Kings with random shooting from the outside, and he also had to consider the mood of an old player, Mitchell Sampson.

It's just that Gan Guoyang's performance at the beginning of the third quarter really moved Ramsey. He realized that this Chinese center, who was suspected by many people, might really have great potential.

So, he decided to try to give him more possession of the ball and command on the court to see how he could perform.

"Yes, Captain, I will leave everything to me!" Gan Guoyang said with an "unashamed" look, and it was obvious that he was very excited.

Ramsey just nodded slightly, but he really liked Gan Guoyang's self-confidence, and even his "aggressive" character. He knew that last season's Blazers lacked such a fighting dog. , but couldn't stand it at the critical moment of the playoffs.

The short timeout ended quickly, and the two sides re-entered the field. Gan Guoyang served from the sideline with a basketball.

As soon as the ball was sent, Gan Guoyang immediately came to the waist position. He didn't ask for a deep position, but he still liked the feeling of asking for the ball in the low post. <Warm flowers bloom, this is what Gan Guoyang feels in his heart at this time.

After he got the ball, he shook his head and observed, and found that Seattle did not double-team, and other players were staring at their own people. This is a good opportunity for singles.

But Gan Guoyang did not hit back, but turned his whole body to the right with his left foot as the axis, changing from the back basket to the front basket in an instant, and at the same time, there was a space between himself and Sikma.

The movement of turning the basket back to the front was very fluent. Just as Sikma reacted, Gan Guoyang had already pushed him inward and directly broke through!

Sikma did not expect that Gan Guoyang's power was so great that he could not withstand Gan Guoyang's impact at all, and was easily pushed away.

Gan Guoyang hit the inside line, and the other players in Seattle couldn't make up for it. He unceremoniously made a dunk with his left hand!

"Yeah!" The fans cheered again in the arena. The impact of this Chinese center was unexpectedly powerful.

"This guy always likes to fight according to his own ideas." Ramsey on the side shook his head again. In his opinion, Gan Guoyang was "willful" again.

Back on the defensive end, Seattle also handed the ball to Sikma. It seems that they want Sikma to play back to Gan Guoyang.

After Sigma took the ball with his back, he turned around in the same way, changing from the back basket to the front basket, and it seemed smoother.

Gan Guoyang actually didn't know that the simple step he used to turn his back to the basket was named after Sikma, called "Sikma Step".

However, Sikma did not have the impact of Gan Guoyang, but after three and two swings, he shot close to Gan Guoyang, looking for a foul.

But Gan Guoyang controlled his movements very well, and he didn't foul at all. Instead, he turned around and grabbed the rebound, and handed it to his teammates.

"His defense is really great, very, very smart." Ramsey was very satisfied with Gan Guoyang's single defense. Gan Guoyang's outstanding strength and awareness made him quite difficult to deal with.

On the offensive end again, Gan Guoyang still seemed unwilling to follow Ramsey’s arrangement. After receiving a pass from Valentine, he did not hesitate, he blocked Sikma with his left hand, turned over and made a hook, and the ball scored!

"Maybe this guy is suitable for scoring constantly." Sitting on the bench, Ramsey thought, he felt that asking Gan Guoyang to be like Wharton seemed a bit embarrassing for him. After all, Gan Guoyang was still young and had only been in college for two years.

But he has an unparalleled talent in scoring, and his hook is as elegant and precise as the sky hook Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Ramsey decided to let this kid beat him happily according to his own habits.